BEVERLY HILLS, August 14, (THEWILL) – Apparently reacting to the order of President Muhammadu Buhari to wipe out the Boko Haram insurgents within three months, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) as well as four other Service Chiefs – Defence, Nigerian Army, Air Force and Police , Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, promised to rout the insurgents from the troubled Northeast very soon.
Monguno, who led lthe four other service chiefs, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (Defence), Lt. Gen, Tukur Buratai (Army), Air Marshal Sadiq Baba Abubakar (Air Force) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase (Police), on a visit to the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, said the military was launching the final onslaught against Boko Haram.
Noting that the most pressing issue in the country was the Boko Haram insurgency, Monguno said the recent change of guards by President Muhammadu Buhari was to end terror attacks and bombings in the Northeast and restore peace and order.
According to him, “There was a tendency of replacing the service chiefs with a mandate from the President to end Boko Haram insurgency that has claimed a lot of lives and property in the North East. In less than 24 hours after we were sworn in and decorated by the President, we are here in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, for the reassessment of military operations and to end insurgency in three months.”
Monguno, who assured Gov. Shettima and the people of Borno state that the service chiefs will not let them down, said President Buhari has picked the right service chiefs to end the insurgency.
According to Monguno, “We are here in Maiduguri to end this insurgency, we are to assess all the military operational details that will facilitate various ‘aerial and ground troops’ to put an end to Boko Haram.”
Maintaining that the military alone cannot win the anti-terror war, he said “the victory over Boko Haram cannot be won without involving the larger society.”
According to the NSA, “We are not going to work against your interest of restoring peace and unity in the North East. We are here for all of you affected by this terrorism that has claimed the lives of many of your sons, daughters, parents, guardians, including your traditional and religious leaders sacked from towns and villages for over six years. We want you also to help us with credible information to end this insurgency.
“We are here to tell you we are up to the task, but it is a two-way traffic, we need your assistance. We need information and they (the people) need to come out of the closets to assist us.
“I know there has been mutual suspicion in the past, but it is time to work together to put an end to this insurgency.”
In his response, Shettima noted that the people of Borno and Northeast cannot ask for more, saying “we have had our own fair share of service chiefs. We have what it takes to make Boko Haram a thing of the past,”
Promising to give all necessary support to ensure an end to the insurgency, Shettima
said: “With the appointment of the service chiefs, we cannot ask for more, all we need is to give them our support. The Boko Haram cannot survive if we the people of Borno say no, enough is enough.”
